CII flags $36 billion growth gap, calls for sweeping media policy reforms

India’s media and entertainment (M&E) sector will need to grow at an annual rate of around 15.3% to reach $100 billion by 2033, nearly doubling its current growth trajectory, according to a new white paper by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), which has called for a sweeping package of regulatory, taxation and infrastructure reforms to accelerate the industry’s expansion.

The report, The New Economics of Media & Entertainment, estimates that the sector generated approximately $32 billion in revenue in 2025, growing 9% year-on-year. If this pace continues, the industry would reach only about $64 billion by 2033, leaving a $36 billion gap against the $100 billion ambition.

The white paper, which builds on CII’s December 2025 recommendations for the sector, argues that India’s next phase of growth cannot rely solely on its large consumer base and expanding digital audience. Instead, it will require businesses to capture more value from advertising, subscriptions, intellectual property (IP), regional-language content and emerging technologies, while reducing regulatory uncertainty and improving the economics of content creation and distribution.

Among its key recommendations, CII has called for the restoration of television audience ratings, greater commercial freedom for broadcasters, a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) on television, over-the-top (OTT) and music subscriptions to 5%, a national anti-piracy task force, and incentives for Indian-owned intellectual property.

The industry body has also proposed a National Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR) Skills Mission, a production-linked incentive of 10–20% for original Indian IP, and measures to expand cinema infrastructure in underserved regions.

The $100 billion figure is a target scenario rather than a forecast, the report clarifies. Its achievement will depend on the implementation of reforms, private-sector investment, consumer demand and the emergence of new revenue streams.

Broadcasting reforms and restoration of ratings

Broadcasting reform is among the report’s most immediate priorities, with CII arguing that regulatory constraints and limited commercial flexibility are affecting the sector’s ability to compete in an increasingly convergent media market.

The industry body has sought tariff forbearance, the removal of carriage fees and unconditional must-carry provisions for broadcasters. These measures, it argues, would allow market forces to play a greater role in pricing and packaging decisions, improve commercial flexibility and encourage investment in content.

CII has also called for the restoration of television ratings and the development of interoperable audience measurement standards covering television, connected TV, OTT, digital platforms and creators.

The prolonged suspension of television audience measurement, the report says, has weakened market signals and transparency. Credible ratings data would help broadcasters and advertisers assess audience reach, evaluate campaign effectiveness and make investment decisions in a market where viewing is increasingly distributed across multiple screens.

The report also advocates preserving industry-led self-regulation for OTT platforms, with appropriate accountability, rather than introducing disproportionate regulation that could constrain innovation.

Taxation is another central concern. CII has proposed reducing GST on television, OTT and music subscriptions to 5%, arguing that lower taxes could improve affordability, expand paid consumption and strengthen legitimate revenue streams for content owners and distributors.

The report places these recommendations within a broader objective of establishing a more predictable, market-driven broadcasting framework that can support competition, investment and innovation.

Anti-piracy task force, copyright safeguards proposed

CII has called for a coordinated national response to online piracy, unauthorised content distribution and broadcast-signal theft, which it says erode legitimate revenues and weaken incentives to invest in original content.

The proposed framework includes a national anti-piracy task force involving police, cybercrime agencies, customs authorities and state-level counterparts. It also calls for judicially mandated dynamic website blocking, faster legal remedies and a national content registry to verify ownership and make rights-holder claims easier to establish.

The report has proposed geo-blocking and forensic watermarking of direct-to-home set-top boxes to deter cross-border signal theft and unauthorised redistribution of Indian television channels.

Rather than treating estimates of piracy losses as established facts, CII has recommended developing a consistent, verified baseline across online infringement, broadcast-signal theft and other forms of piracy. It has set a target of reducing losses against that baseline by 50% within three years.

Copyright protection and the use of artificial intelligence are also addressed in the report. CII has argued for stronger safeguards for creators and rights holders, while calling for responsible AI innovation.

The paper raises concerns about a proposed mandatory licensing approach for copyrighted works used in AI training, arguing that such a framework could limit rights holders’ ability to decide how their work is used and weaken incentives for content creation. It favours voluntary licensing as the default and calls for clearer copyright rules governing emerging technologies.

The report recommends modernising copyright law and establishing an International Content Copyright and Anti-Piracy Grievance Committee to strengthen enforcement and provide a mechanism for addressing infringement-related concerns.

Regional markets, cinema screens and live events

Expanding access to media infrastructure beyond major urban centres is another key component of CII’s growth strategy.

India has approximately 6.8 cinema screens per million people, compared with around 109 in the US, according to the report. Only about 3,150 of India’s 19,500 pin codes have a cinema, highlighting the limited reach of theatrical infrastructure across the country.

CII has called for increasing the number of screens to approximately 16,000 by the early 2030s, with incentives to encourage investment in the Northeast, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other underserved markets.

The report argues that new screens alone will not be sufficient. Regional markets also need viable exhibition economics, stronger distribution networks, regional-language content discovery and predictable state-level permissions.

Investment in cinema infrastructure and multipurpose live-event venues could create opportunities for regional producers, broadcasters, advertisers and event organisers, while bringing new audiences into the formal media economy.

CII has also proposed a model live-events order to streamline approvals through a single-window mechanism, with a 15-day approval timeline. For live sports, it has sought a 24-hour uplinking intimation requirement instead of a lengthy approval process, alongside the removal of processing fees and per-day uplinking charges.

The report notes that live events recorded growth of 44% in 2025, reflecting rising consumer demand for shared, in-person experiences.

It also points to the importance of regional-language cinema. South Indian-language films accounted for approximately 44% of box-office collections in 2025, while four of the year’s ten biggest films were South Indian-language releases. A total of 37 films crossed ₹100 crore at the box office during the year.

CII believes that better access to screens, venues and distribution networks can help convert this regional demand into sustained industry growth.

Creators, gaming and AVGC-XR beyond entertainment

The report identifies animation, visual effects, gaming and extended reality as potential sources of revenue beyond conventional entertainment.

CII estimates that the combined segment covering B2B media, live events and AVGC services generated about $2.9 billion in 2025. Its target scenario projects this category reaching $16 billion by 2033, driven partly by demand from industries outside entertainment.

Defence training, healthcare, biotechnology, education and urban planning are among the potential customers for Indian studios. The same 3D modelling, animation and game-engine capabilities used in entertainment can be deployed in defence simulations, medical visualisation, immersive learning and digital city models.

The report recommends that the government become an early customer for such services, including defence simulation and healthcare and education content. It also proposes using DIGIPIN-based digital maps and 3D city models for municipal corporations, with open standards, to expand demand for Indian visualisation and mapping businesses.

CII has called for a National AVGC-XR Skills Mission, with state-level satellite centres and cross-industry certifications to build a workforce capable of serving both entertainment and non-entertainment markets.

The white paper also seeks formal recognition of creators as digital businesses and proposes establishing a National Esports and Gaming Development Authority.

India’s video games and esports segment generated approximately $1.04 billion in 2025, according to the report. The sector has undergone a structural transition following regulatory changes affecting real-money gaming. CII expects future growth to be driven by casual games, esports and Indian-owned gaming intellectual property.

It argues that building Indian-owned IP will be critical to generating recurring income through licensing, monetisation and exports, rather than relying predominantly on services or content owned by overseas companies.

Incentives for Indian IP and exports

To improve the global competitiveness of Indian media businesses, CII has proposed a production-linked incentive of 10–20% for original Indian IP across animation, gaming, XR and broadcast content.

It has also recommended reforming the foreign-production incentive, including a higher cap, payments within 90 days and extending coverage to series, animation and games.

The report calls for an export fund, simpler overseas investment rules and the use of holding structures in GIFT City to help Indian media companies expand internationally. It sets an ambition for at least ten Indian M&E companies to earn a quarter of their revenue abroad by the early 2030s.

CII has also urged the industry to make fuller use of India’s 17 co-production treaties and expand its presence at global content markets.

Access to finance is another area identified for reform. The paper recommends IP-backed financing and content-based lending, alongside more predictable taxation and a framework that avoids retrospective tax uncertainty.

It also proposes reducing Basic Customs Duty to nil or the lowest applicable rate on specified video gaming and game-development hardware and components, including graphics processing units, specialised rendering equipment, development workstations and servers where domestic manufacturing capacity is limited or unavailable.

The report argues that stronger access to capital and incentives for original IP could help Indian businesses retain more of the economic value generated by their creative work and develop into globally competitive media companies.

Digital advertising to drive revenue expansion

Internet advertising is already the largest segment of India’s M&E sector, generating approximately $10.9 billion in 2025, or nearly a third of total industry revenue, according to the report.

The segment’s growth has been supported by small advertisers, e-commerce platforms and the integration of advertising into connected TV. OTT video generated approximately $1.7 billion, while television remained a major medium with revenues of about $7.1 billion. Print was valued at approximately $3 billion.

CII’s 2033 target scenario projects internet advertising reaching $47 billion, reflecting an annual growth rate of around 20%. The category includes connected-TV advertising, creator content and retail and commerce media.

OTT video is projected to reach $8.5 billion, while traditional television is estimated to grow to $8 billion. Video games and esports are projected to reach $6 billion, and cinema revenues could rise to $5.5 billion.

The report also expects music, radio and podcasts to grow from approximately $1.1 billion to $3 billion, while out-of-home advertising could expand from $800 million to $2.5 billion as digital screens and location data improve measurement.

These are CII scenario estimates based on the 2025 segment baseline, not independent market forecasts. The report says the projections depend on several conditions, including faster growth in advertising, expansion of paid streaming, new demand for AVGC services and the development of regional markets.

It also calls for better measurement of the creator economy, including formally accounting for creator income, so that revenue generated through emerging digital formats is captured more consistently in industry estimates.

A 36-month reform calendar

CII has proposed a phased, 36-month reform calendar to ensure that the measures needed to accelerate growth are implemented early enough to influence the sector’s trajectory.

In the first six months, it wants a coordinated policy mechanism, restoration of television ratings, confirmation of voluntary licensing as the default for AI training, removal of per-day uplinking fees for live sports and submission of the subscription GST proposal to the GST Council.

Over the following six to 18 months, the proposed agenda includes funding the anti-piracy task force, launching a single-window portal, implementing the model live-events order in at least 15 states, reducing subscription GST to 5%, recognising creators as formal digital businesses, introducing tariff forbearance and establishing an export fund.

Between 18 and 36 months, CII wants the production-linked incentive for original IP and reformed production incentives notified, copyright law modernised and the National AVGC-XR Skills Mission extended to every state.

The report assigns responsibilities across the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, the GST Council, state governments and other relevant agencies.

CII has proposed an annual public scorecard to track sector revenue, exports, cinema screens, piracy losses, approval timelines, direct employment, GDP contribution and the number of Indian companies competing globally.

Its broader aspirations include increasing direct employment from an estimated 2.75 million to more than five million and raising the sector’s contribution to GDP from around 0.8% to 2%. These are CII targets rather than official forecasts.

The report’s central argument is that India’s large audience base must translate into greater value creation, ownership and monetisation of intellectual property. At the current growth rate, the sector is expected to reach $64 billion by 2033; reaching $100 billion will require policy reforms, private investment and new sources of demand to reinforce one another.

CII has said the target should be treated as a shared destination for industry and government, with progress measured through defined milestones, rather than as a guaranteed outcome.